BOB BASSET'S RIVET-GOTH MASKS AREN'T STEAMPUNK (WE HOPE)

William Gibson, the prophet of Cyberpunk, labeled one of

Bob Basset's

masks "Probably the single best steampunk object I've seen", a dubious distinction for sure. While Basset's creations do share some common surface features with that leaky breast-pump of a subculture, they also seem incredibly complicated and some have inbuilt cooling systems, 3D-glasses, and built-in lasers. So there. And, as it turns out, Bob Basset is not just a man but a leather workshop, based in the small town of Kharkov, Ukraine, led by an autodidactic crazyman who didn't want to send us a picture of himself or his team, a man named Bob Basset. Still following? Good. Let's dig in.

Vice: Hello Bob Basset. Since you're from Ukraine, I imagine that's not what you're mom named you, is it? Bob Basset:

My real name is Oleg Petrov, but most people know me as Bob Basset. It came from the name of my dog who was a Basset Hound called Bob. He was my friend for many, many years. I love dogs. When me and my team were thinking of a good name for our workshop, we just chose that one.

Do you have a leather craftsman background?

I have been working with leather for over 20 years, so it is my background. I have read old books about leather, its chemistry and technology. My main specialty though is metallurgy. Apart from leather, we are working with metal, stone, wood, ceramic, and glass. There was a bit of fuss when we made some sapphire knives.

Sounds awesome. What kind of people buy your masks?

Usually I don't know who my customers are exactly, and what the masks are for. I actually only sell on eBay and Makers Market. I think most of them are in the USA, UK, France, and Germany. But there are also private orders for masks and suits by DJs, photographers, and actors for work in shows and onstage. Of the famous people I know about, Korn's keyboardist wears my masks. And in December 2009, the studio of Ridley Scott Associates bought four masks for a short film called

The Gift

. Cory Doctorow, the postcyberpunk and science fiction author, is a big customer too.

It must take a lot of time and money to make a mask, right?

Actually, a mask can cost as little as a dollar, plus shipping costs. All the prices are the result of the customer's wants. We can make a mask in one day, it can also take several years.

What's the longest time you've worked on a product?

It is still not finished.

Jeez, looking forward to seeing that one! So how much of this is about weird sex fetishes?

As is in all objects, if you see sex and fetish in our products, it's there. If not, it is just not your fetish, ha ha.

Right, ha.

Ha. Anyways, many people see a sexual thing in our work and I think it is good, but we don't know what exactly the fetish is.

Some of this stuff looks pretty high fashion.

I think we have a link with fashion. Last summer we have worked with one of the big French fashion houses and our Paw Shoes were in the New York Times Magazine last year.

Do you have a favorite piece?

I really cannot judge myself. I have made hundreds of products, you can count them on my

blog

or website if you want. But I'm sure the best one hasn't been made yet. One of my favorites so far is the dragon backpack.

Mine too!

NINA BYTTEBIER